Night time location bugles

[iccyman001]

Derek touched on it yesterday, so I wanted to ask you guys about them.


Apparently people will let out some location bugles at night before they head into camp to have a starting point for the next day?
Is this effective?

So early season bow hunting is still fairly warm. Wouldn\'t the elk be moving more around the night than the day.

So if I located them, wouldn\'t it be pointless because they could travel all night?




Thoughts?

 

[Jaquomo]

Where I hunt they tend to park in a feeding area in the night, often bedding, feeding bedding, etc.. By first light they\'re generally back into the transition timber, grazing their way back toward bedding areas.

It\'s good to know where they are at night since they bounce to different feeding parks, but they can move a lot during the night and there\'s no guarantee where they\'ll go in the morning to bed. It\'s only part of the puzzle. It at least let\'s you know there are elk in the area, which makes getting up in the morning a bit more exciting. It also gives you a good starting point for early a.m. location bugles.

 

[Swede]

It has been my observation that if you get back to that area at first light you have a good chance of finding the bull still there. Maybe they are there more, but may go silent. Calling just after dark and going back there in the predawn is a great way to get a head start a day\'s hunt. Even better is to get there about an hour or so before first light, call and listen. If you get a response, keep quiet and wait until daylight. You may want to call again at first light to reaffirm that the bull is where you last heard him. Possibly he has moved.

 

[Jaquomo]

Swede makes a good point about them still being in the same area. Where we hunt the elk can spread out in the night, sometimes over 100 yards or more apart, and the bull(s) may be out roaming or way off to the side. This may be more of an open country thing.

If I get an answer to a location bugle in the pre-dawn I wait until I can see before moving in, to avoid running into scattered cows and blowing up the herd.

Been there, done that.

 

[WW]

Find them in the evening or night and there is a fairly good chance they will be in the general area the next morning if something hasn\'t bumped them out. But it isn\'t a 100% thing.

Temperature can have a lot to do with it as well. Especially if you are hunting those early season 80 degree days. You better be there well before daylight because as soon as the sun pops up they will be headed for the dark timber to cool off. On cooler days, the may tend to linger in the more open feeding areas longer.

 

[iccyman001]

This is very interesting.


Do you do a special type of bugle to get them to bugle back?
It might be a stupid question and I am already anticipating the response \"yes dan, it\'s called a location bugle... :roll: \"



If it is a specific bugle, how do I do it?

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

I choose to call it a Contact Bugle. Essentially, the bull is announcing his geographic location to any elk within hearing distance. Responses from other elk can be another Contact Bugle or in simple terms, \"your there, ok I\'m here\". But a dominant and/or warning reply can sent just as well. Especially if one bull is too close to the other during the wrong time. The elk language is just that simple.

Learn the spike squeal first. From there, add a little more base at the beginning and extend the top pitch to 3-5 seconds.

My 2-cents.

 

[Jaquomo]

What John said. I\'d add to not try to sound aggressive by adding grunts, chuckles or glunking because that will often cause them to shut up and start silently coming to you. You don\'t want that. You want to go to him, figure out his mood and situation (cows or not, irritable or not) before deciding on YOUR next move.

 

[iccyman001]

Truth be told,

I didn\'t hear any bugling at night this year.





What about you guys?

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

I picked up several bugles at night. So my initial thought on your situation is

1) Do your bulls get heavy pressure?
2) Moon phase you hunted?

 

[iccyman001]

I picked up several bugles at night. So my initial thought on your situation is

1) Do your bulls get heavy pressure?
2) Moon phase you hunted?

Pressure was non existent.
I believe full moon was on August 27th or 28th and I was hunting Sept 1-10th!